Falcons conclude competition at Air Force open

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U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFPN) --  Sophomore Melissa Beerse picked up a victory in the pole vault, as the Air Force track and field team wrapped up competition at the Don Barrett-Air Force Open on Feb. 9. Competing at the Academy's Cadet Field House, the Falcons collected 26 top-10 finishes during the non-team scoring meet.

Beerse cleared the 13-foot plateau for the second straight weekend, winning the event with a clearance of 13'0 1/4". Freshman Rachel Simmons finished fifth, after clearing the bar at 12'1 1/2".

Freshman Necressainne White moved into the Academy's all-time records in a pair of events. Recording a fifth-place distance of 18'1", White moved into fifth place on the Falcons' all-time long jump list. She also claimed a ninth-place time of 7:84 in the 60-meter dash, which is the seventh-fastest time in program history.

Sophomore Sara Neubauer was the runner-up in the shot put with throw of 48'8". The mile relay team clocked in at 4:02.02 to place fifth, while freshman Katherine Ward finished seventh in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 11:09.07. Sophomore Ally Romanko crossed the finish line of the 400-meter dash in 59.02 to place eighth, while classmate Becca Burditt finished 10th in the 800-meter run after a time of 2:29.97.

As the runner-up in the mile, freshman Kyle Jones posted the best finish on the men's team. Clocking a time of 4:26.20, Jones was one of three Falcons to finish within the top-10 in that event. Sophomore Thomas Richter finished sixth with a time of 4:31.10, while classmate Andy Schweitzer clocked a 10th-place time of 4:35.97.

Senior Devin Hart earned a fourth-place distance of 21'11 1/2" in the long jump, while freshman Michael Vetri finished sixth with a mark of 21'3 1/4". Juniors Scott Balcao and Ryan Workman added a pair of top-10 finishes in the 3,000-meter run, as Balcao placed fifth in 9:19.61 and Workman finished 10th with a time of 9:34.73. Sophomore Dan Paladino (54'9 1/2") and junior Kirk Devine (51'7") finished sixth and 10th, respectively, in the weight throw, while freshman Noah Palicia and sophomore Kyle Ellsworth both cleared 14'9" in the pole vault to finish seventh and eighth.

Air Force earned two top-10 finishes from junior Skylar Morgan, who crossed the finish line of the 60-meter hurdles in 8:69 to finish sixth and cleared the high jump at 6'3 1/4" to place seventh. The Falcons also received multiple top finishes from freshman LD Woods. Woods tied with junior Kellen Curry to finish sixth in the 60-meter dash (6.94), while also clocking a ninth-place time of 22:53 in the 200-meter dash.

Rounding out the Falcons top finishers was senior David Lissy, who put the shot put down at 54'1 3/4" to take fifth.

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